Normality, Defunct Toffees and Four Weetabix.

The last blog was something of a whistle stop journey through the first month of the season during which I reviewed Town’s first seven matches of the campaign and covered the changes in personnel as the manager tried to finalise the make-up of his squad. I likened the opening weeks to being on a rollercoaster due to the side’s patchy results up to that point but thankfully things have since settled and we’re now very much back to normal with just three matches, consisting of two victories and a draw, to look back on.

The first of those was against Holyhead Hotspur and encounters between the sides are usually really tight affairs, although it does seem that we’ve usually had the upper hand in recent years. I’m not sure how other people see matches between the clubs but I’ve always thought of them as ‘local derbies’ and certainly they’re always played in this spirit, both on and off the pitch. Both clubs have passionate supporters and there is always plenty of banter between both sets, usually at ‘The New Stadium’ where Holyhead’s finest are especially vociferous. They have one particularly vocal follower who goes by the name of a now defunct famous toffee sweet and whom I last saw being given a verbal, and very public, warning at Holyhead’s ground by one of their stewards. I’m unsure as to the cause for such action but I’ll harbour a guess and say that it might have been something to do with a refereeing decision against his side. Anyway, it was good to see that he had made the trip to the Oval for the match, and also somehow reassuring to see him take his customary place, not too far away from the linesman, where he proceeded to offer his advice to all three match officials, his speciality obviously concerning the intricacies of the offside rule.  

Keighan Jones. 

Due to the proximity of the clubs there is always a good chance that one or more of the players will have played for both sides and this in itself always adds some spice to the encounters. This time around, it was the turn of our former keeper Paul Pritchard to play the pantomime villain as he faced the Cofis for the first time since leaving during the Summer. ‘The Cat’ needs no introduction on here, as everyone who supports Caernarfon will know all about his two stints with the club, the first as a member of Wayne Phillips’ Welsh Premier League squad during 2002-2004 and more recently when Lee Dixon brought him back to the Oval in 2012. During the past four seasons I think he’s proved without doubt that he’s the best keeper in the league and, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the best I’ve seen playing for us, although I would also say that he’s the worst dressed keeper we have had. By far!

The Harbourmen are never anything less than a tough nut to crack and they proved it again two weeks ago, arriving at the Oval in decent, if not great form, and on the back of a confidence boosting 8-1 victory over Mold. It wasn’t the most exciting of encounters but the players deserved the victory, despite a dogged rearguard action by Hotspur, and an excellent performance from ‘the Cat’, who pulled off a string of saves to keep his side within touching distance until the final minutes. In the end, a Nathan Craig penalty and a late James Breese strike were enough to clinch the points and give the Cofis a fourth straight league victory. 

Before moving on, our new keeper Keighan Jones deserves a mention for such an assured display on his debut. Having only recently signed for the club he was given an early opportunity to impress following an injury sustained by Paul Whitfield against Flint and he certainly looks a safe pair of hands for us. I feel sorry for Whitty though, as he had done really well since replacing Mike Jones earlier in the season but it just goes to show how important it is to have two quality glovesmen in the squad. In Keighan and Whitty we certainly have this and we also have Alex Crofts in the reserves who has impressed thus far this season. 

Next up was a trip to Ruthin and, never having been to the ground, or even the town, before, it was nice to visit somewhere new and I was really impressed by the excellent set up they have at the Memorial Playing Fields. The admission fee of £4.00p was very decent, and there was also a convenient car park at the ground itself. The dressing rooms were situated in what looked like a fairly old building, with a clubhouse running adjacent to the dressing rooms. This, of course, proved very handy for the travelling Cofi Army, who wasted little time in checking it out!

The Cofi Army in Ruthin. 

As always, the first face I saw at the ground was the fountain of all Cofi knowledge, John Watkins, who informed me that former Town player Danny Jellicoe would be lining up for the hosts. I’ll be honest and say that this was rather surprising news as I thought Danny had retired from playing a few years ago and yet, here he was, warming up with his team-mates. I believe he’s still just hanging on to his thirties and to be fair, he did a great job marshalling his defence. Ruthin had appointed  Chris Williams as their new manager just a few days earlier and this obviously had a positive effect on the side, as they performed much better than you’d expect the league’s basement side to.

The match itself took on a vaguely familiar pattern as we dominated possession and created plenty of opportunities but couldn’t quite manage to take advantage in front of goal. However, when a side has so many match-winners in the line-up, there’s always a chance one of them will find the target and this time it was Darren Thomas, who made a goal out of nothing as he picked the ball up in midfield before driving forward and placing the ball neatly into the corner of the home net. At that time, I half expected the floodgates to open but Ruthin dug in and defended magnificently to keep their goal intact for the remainder of the match. In addition to their defence, I thought Will Owen was outstanding for the hosts.

Town fully deserved the victory and I know that some of the players may have felt frustrated that they didn’t win by a wider margin but, as Iwan said in his post-match interview, a win’s a win and the result ensured a fifth successive league victory.

Danny Brookwell in full flight against Ruthin. 

Another positive to come out of the match was the second half introduction of Danny Brookwell and Rob Jones, who added to their midweek cameos against Holyhead with a longer run-out this time around. Rob added some composure in the middle whilst Danny looked electricifying as he ran at the home defence. I’m not sure there’s anyone faster than Danny in the league and I was tempted to feel sorry for the right full back who had to mark him for the final half an hour! His face as he headed for the dressing after the final whistle told its own story! 

Nathan Craig.

Before heading for home, I conducted interviews with Iwan and Nathan Craig and was found out that Nathan needs four weetabix for breakfast on match days to ensure he gets on the scoresheet! 

The side was back at the Oval on Saturday where Caersws were the visitors. The Bluebirds seem to have strengthened their squad over the Summer and look a stronger outfit than last season although, if truth be told, following a blistering start to the game from the Cofis, I thought we were in for a decent victory. Once again we dominated possession early on without finding the net and, as the match wore on, Caersws gained in confidence and started to play some good football of their own. Having gone into the lead courtesy of a Sean Evans free-kick, the visitors seemed content to sit back, especially having gone down to ten men mid-way through the first half and, despite Town’s dominance and many opportunities, it took a late Jamie Breese goal to get the draw that was the least we deserved. Darren Thomas very nearly secured victory with the final meaningful kick of the match when the ball landed at his feet two yards from goal, but he couldn’t quite manage a clean contact and the opportunity passed.

Jamie Breese secured a point against Caersws with a late goal.

To be fair to Caersws, anything but a draw would have been harsh on them and, whilst the Town players were frustrated at failing to win I think it’s worth noting that they showed a lot of determination to get something from the match when things had not quite been falling for us in front of goal. The supporters man of the match was Darren Thomas and I can certainly see why but, for me, Sam Ashworth was the stand-out performer following his introduction from the bench early in the second period. I thought Sam’s composure and drive from midfield made a huge difference to the side and, at just sixteen years of age, he is already playing beyond his years. Iwan mentioned Sam to me during the summer and said he is a real prospect, and how right he was!

Talking of prospects, it’s been great to see our striker Corrig McGonigle knocking in the goals at Glantraeth in the last two weeks. He’s gone there on loan to regain match fitness and certainly seems to doing that, finding the net three times in his two matches for Warren Gibbs’ side.

Hopefully, we’ll get to see him back in the yellow shirt in the not too distant future.

When Dave Jones asked me a few weeks ago if I fancied putting together my favourite Caernarfon Town XI I jumped at the chance, but did so without fully realising how hard a task it would be! It was almost impossible to look beyond our famous FA Cup side of 1986/87 because that was, without doubt, the finest team I’ve seen in the yellow shirt. However, I also feel that we’ve had other outstanding players who either might have strengthened that side or who are just my favourites. The truth is, of course, every supporter would pick different players in their favourite XI’s and really, I could have named three or four sides of my own picks. What it did prove is that I’ve been lucky enough to have seen many wonderful players representing the side, and I count the current squad in this, and such is the status of the club I’m sure that this will continue to be the case in the future.

Darren Thomas would always be in my favourite XI.

We’ve got another big match coming up this weekend, as we head to Conwy in the Welsh Cup. Iwan has made it clear since joining the club that the cup means a lot to him and I’m sure he’s as desperate as all the Cofi Army to see us enjoy a long run in the competition.

The league title is the priority, but how much would we all love a run in the Welsh Cup?!

Finally, as is often the case in football, some people enjoy criticising other clubs and love to hide their remarks behind the banner of 'banter' and I've read and heard plenty of this since the start of the season. However, we're less than two months in, are unbeaten in six matches and currently lie second in the league. And the players are only just getting started! 

Come on the Town!